When Portland Trail Blazers guard CJ McCollum returned from a broken foot on March 16, Anfernee Simons found himself once again buried deep on the bench.
His minutes fell from 20.3 per game in February to 10.7 through six games in April, with much of his playing time coming late in blowout wins or losses.
During this time, Portland coach Terry Stotts said he reminded Simons, a third-year player and no stranger to inconsistent minutes, to remain focused and ready for when his time might come again. Simons handled the situation professionally.
“I just didn’t let it get me down,” Simons said. “Stayed in the gym, kept working, playing hard, working with the young guys, continuing to get better, and when I get this opportunity, just make the most of it.”
That opportunity came Friday night at San Antonio during a 107-106 Blazers victory. About two hours before tipoff, All-Star guard Damian Lillard was ruled out with a hamstring injury. That sent Derrick Jones Jr. back into the starting lineup and made Simons the third guard in the rotation, behind starters McCollum and Norman Powell.
Someone off the bench had to help pick up the minutes (35.9 per game) and scoring (28.7) lost with Lillard out.
Simons, the team’s first-round pick in 2018, ended up doing most of the heavy lifting, playing 30 minutes and contributing 16 points on 5 of 10 shooting while making 4 of 8 threes for Portland (32-23). He didn’t score in the first quarter but had nine in the second, making 3 of 5 threes, and added five in the third quarter to help the team rally from as much as 16 down.
Simons, who is averaging 7.7 points per game this season, clearly had followed Stotts’ advice to stay ready.
“That’s part of his job, and it isn’t easy, but you have to be ready for these times and I think it’s probably a little bit easier knowing that when Dame is out, he knows that he’s going to play as opposed to getting a call out of the blue,” Stotts said.
Simons’ performance, especially on defense, made Stotts proud of his young guard.
“I thought he competed defensively, he got some nice rebounds, you know he did a little bit of everything and I was glad he was ready,” Stotts said.
Simons’ biggest defensive play came in the fourth quarter when he stole the ball and went down the court for a powerful dunk that made the score 95-95 with 5:12 remaining in the game.
Simons, who is shooting a career-high 41.5% on threes this season, said he has gotten a lot smarter and stronger on defense. But his best gifts remain on offense.
Powell, who scored 22 against the Spurs, said that Simons provided a huge spark to the team when it needed it most after falling behind in the second and third quarters. He especially noted when Simons, winner of the NBA Slam Dunk Contest in March, drove the lane and tried to dunk on 7-foot-1 center Jakob Poeltl. Simons failed and ended up on the ground after receiving contact that went uncalled. Still, that show of attempted force pumped up the team.
ATLANTA, GEORGIA - MARCH 07: Anfernee Simons of the Portland Trail Blazers celebrates after winning the 2021 NBA All-Star - AT&T Slam Dunk Contest during All-Star Sunday Night at State Farm Arena on March 07, 2021 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)Getty Images
“Him coming down and trying to dunk on somebody provided that spark and aggressiveness that we needed to pull out the game,” Powell said. “It’s big-time for a player that’s early in his career to come in and play like that. I think it’s a big confidence boost for him.”
Powell, who joined the team in late March, credited Lillard and McCollum for the work they’ve done as mentors to Simons. McCollum, like Simons, began his career receiving inconsistent minutes before finally taking off in year three.
“He’s handled it well and was ready to play tonight,” McCollum said. “He was huge getting a lot of big shots for us. He was aggressive. His plus-minus (plus-16) was the highest on our team tonight.”
McCollum said he has helped Simons by telling him to always remain positive to find his peace with his lack of playing time.
“You obviously want to contribute,” McCollum said. “You can contribute, but sometimes coach might not call your number. But nights like this, take advantage of your time and be aggressive.”
Simons did just that and greatly contributed to a much-needed Portland victory.
“It kind of shows where his mindset was and how he still has his joy and his peace,” McCollum said.
-- Aaron Fentress | afentress@Oregonian.com | @AaronJFentress (Twitter), @AaronJFentress (Instagram), @AaronFentress (Facebook).
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